TW05 The Nautilus Sanction NEW (9 page)

“Jesus fucking Christ,” said Finn.

It loomed before them, shrouded in the mist, its teardrop-shaped hull like a steel island rising out of the waves. They could see the huge conning tower with its winglike sailplanes and tall periscopes, the flattened top portion of the deck with ominous round hatches, beneath which lurked ballistic missiles in their silos.

“What in the name of God is that?” Verne whispered, awestruck. “What is that?”

“A submarine,” said Lucas.

Land stood upon the deck, gazing out into the fog. When he spotted them, he waved.

“I’ve found your sea monster, Jules!” he shouted. “Come, have a look!”

“Finn, the sail!” said Lucas, grabbing his arm and pointing.

Delaney looked where he was pointing and saw a figure standing up on the bridge at the top of the conning tower. At the same moment, a hatch opened in the boat and uniformed men came streaming out, carrying automatic weapons. Land put up a struggle, but they overpowered him. A stream of bullets from an automatic rifle stitched the water close beside their boat.

One of the sailors barked out a command in Russian and waved them in.

“I think we’re being invited on board,” said Lucas.

“We must go,” said Verne. “We cannot abandon Ned.”

“I have no intention of abandoning Ned, Jules,” Lucas said. “We came here looking for that submarine. Well, now we’ve found it.”

Under the watchful eyes of the Soviet sailors, they came on board and, one at a time, went down the hatch.

They were taken to a cabin which slept six, with the bunks built into the bulkheads in tiers of three.

By each row of bunks there were lockers and the cabin was equipped with a table, bolted down, as well as chairs. The bunks were close together, giving hardly any headroom, though there was plenty of space for a man of six feet to stretch out. Each bunk was equipped with a fluorescent light for reading and with a stereo headset. Moments after they were brought in, a crewman entered with coffee and a change of clothing for them, jumpsuits like those the others wore.

“Looks like we’ve got officers’ quarters,” Finn said. He opened the door to the cabin and was not surprised to see an armed guard confronting him. “Well, they’re willing to give us some privacy, but it seems we’re not to be allowed the run of the ship.”

“Boat,” said Lucas. “A submarine is called a boat.”

“One this size ought to be called a ship,” said Finn. He began to strip off his wet clothes.

Verne, still in something like a state of shock, caught him by the arm. “What are you doing?” he said.

“Taking off my wet clothes, what does it look like I’m doing?” Finn said.

“But, my good man, have you forgotten? There is a woman present . . .” His voice trailed off as he saw that Andre had stripped down to the buff and was stepping into one of the jumpsuits. He gaped at her, then quickly turned his head. “
Mon Dieu!”

The diving Klaxon sounded and Verne jerked as if stung. “What on earth was that?” he said, alarmed.

“Unless I miss my guess,” said Lucas, “it is the signal the submarine is about to dive.” The submarine tilted as it began its descent and both Verne and Land, not knowing what to expect, were thrown off-balance. Lucas sat down at the table and caught the tray with the coffee cups. It had started to slide.

“I suggest we all drink some of this coffee,” he said. “You, especially, Jules. You’re shivering like an epileptic.”

“I cannot cease marveling at this!” said Verne, sitting down at the table. “The water outside is freezing, yet it is as warm in here as on a summer’s day. What a superb accomplishment this vessel is! I must know more about it. What is its power source? How is the air stored for us to breathe? How—”

“I’d leave all those questions for later if I were you, and get out of those wet clothes,” said Finn.

“Andre, turn your head so Jules doesn’t die of embarrassment.”

“What I can’t figure is how this submarine boat managed to sink our ship,” said Land. “It ain’t likely that it rammed us, because of the explosion. But how could they have fired when they were under the water?”

“It’s called a torpedo, Ned,” said Lucas.

“What, you mean a mine?” said Land.

“No, this is a different sort of device,” said Lucas. “It’s fired from a tube within this boat while—”

“Yes, of course!” said Verne, interrupting him, carried away by his own enthusiasm. “The self-propelled torpedo! Built by the Englishman, Robert Whitehead. I have read of it. Whitehead worked from a design by the Austrian naval officer, Giovanni Luppis. But the Whitehead-Luppis torpedo is still only an experimental stage device. It is 14 feet long and 14 inches in diameter, as I recall, weighing some 300 pounds and carrying 18 pounds of dynamite in its nose. It is powered by a compressed-air engine which turns a small propeller and impels it at a speed of 6 knots for a maximum range of 700 yards.”

“By Heaven, does this man know everything?” said Land.

“Admittedly, I do have a certain eclectic expertise in various fields,” said Verne, “but I am a mere dabbler in such matters, a dilettante. The fact is, my friends, I have recently been giving a great deal of consideration to writing a novel, one of my
voyages extraordinaires,
about a submarine vessel much like this one. I have been doing a considerable amount of research to that end, but never did I dream I would actually find myself aboard such a craft! To think of the book I shall he able to write after this experience!”

“Assuming we survive it,” Andre said. “And assuming you don’t catch pneumonia from standing around with your pants down around your legs.”

“
Sacre bleu!”
Verne flushed a deep crimson and quickly pulled his soaking trousers back up. Finn laughed and tossed him one of the jumpsuits.

“Try one of these,” he said.

“I promise not to look,” said Andre, turning around.

Verne quickly removed his wet clothing and slipped into the jumpsuit.

“So that’s what happened to the
Scotia,”.
Land said. “She was sunk by one of them torpedo devices.” He shook his head. “What ship would stand a chance ‘gainst a vessel with such weapons?”

“I’m afraid this submarine is equipped with weapons far more deadly,” Lucas said. “We were very fortunate. The
Abraham Lincoln
might just as easily have been obliterated without a trace in less than an instant.”

Land frowned. “How is it that you know these things, Professor?”

“Because he is not a professor, Mr. Land,” said a deep voice from behind them. The door had opened silently without their noticing it. In the doorway, flanked by two men with drawn automatic pistols, stood a tall, heavily muscled man with raven-black hair lightly streaked with white and unusually bright, emerald-green eyes. His face would have possessed a classic, almost Byronic beauty were it not for the knife scar which ran from beneath his left eye in a straight line across his cheekbone to just above the corner of his mouth. His features were Slavic; a high forehead, blade-straight nose and a prominent jawline with a square chin. His posture was elegant; ramrod straight, yet somehow languid. He was dressed in a tailored naval uniform of dark blue cotton with gold captain’s bands upon the sleeves of his coat and shoulderboards. The insignia was incongruously British. The coat had double rows of heavy brass buttons and, in a quite unmilitary touch, he had a deep-purple silk handkerchief neatly folded in the left-hand breast pocket. The handkerchief matched the purple ascot tie held down with a diamond stickpin. That pin was his sole adornment with the exception of a large ruby worn on the left hand.

Andre caught her breath. “
Drakov!”

“It’s so nice to be remembered, Miss Cross,” he said with a smile. “And Mr. Delaney and Mr.

Priest, as well. Quite a reunion. I had an intuition we might meet again. Tell me, is my father well?”

“He’s better than he would be if he knew you were behind this,” said Finn.

“Would one of you mind explaining what the devil this is all about?” said Land.

“Certainly,” said Drakov. “If someone would be so kind as to introduce us, sir, I would be happy to oblige.”

“Nikolai Drakov, Ned Land,” said Lucas. “Ned is a harpooner by profession. Drakov’s calling, Ned, would be a bit more difficult to explain. I’m not even sure I know what it is, but I can hazard a few guesses. At this point, calling him a pirate wouldn’t be too far off the mark. And this is Mr. Jules Verne.” Drakov looked surprised. “Not the famous novelist, surely?” Verne smiled slightly and inclined his head.

“Well, this is indeed an honor,” Drakov said. “I am among your most devoted readers, sir. In fact, I have renamed this submarine in honor of your own creation. I bid you welcome aboard the
Nautilus.”
Verne looked puzzled. “But I have never written—”

“Ah, but you shall, Mr. Verne,” said Drakov, with a smile. “You shall.”

“Well, whoever in blazes you might be,” said Land, “you’ve a lot to answer for. I have—”

“I answer to no one, Mr. Land,” said Drakov, curtly. “This vessel is mine and aboard it, I am the sole authority. This is my world and you exist in it at my discretion. I could just as easily have submerged while you sat upon my deck, braying like a drunken dockworker. If you cannot behave in a more civilized manner, I will have you placed in a torpedo tube and ejected from my ship.” Land swore softly in French.

“You are quite correct, Mr. Land,” said Drakov, tersely. “I am, literally, a bastard. And fluent in French, as well. You have now been cautioned twice. Your next transgression shall be your last.” Land remained silent, glowering at him.

“You must forgive Ned, Captain Drakov,” Verne said, anxious to placate their host. “His belligerence is . . . well, after all, sir, you did sink our ship.”

“Only after I was fired upon, Mr. Verne,” said Drakov. “Or do you not regard that as sufficient provocation?”

The author cleared his throat uneasily. “Yes, well, to be sure, you have a point, sir. However, we . . .

that is, Commander Farragut and his crew had no idea it was a vessel they were firing upon. They were—”

“Yes, yes, I know,” said Drakov, impatiently. “They were hunting a sea monster of some sort. I do try to remain
au courant,
Mr. Verne. I was well aware of the
Abraham Lincoln’s
mission.” Verne’s eyes grew wide. “Then you deliberately—”

“I did nothing of the sort, if I may anticipate you,” said Drakov. “Nothing would have pleased me more than to avoid your ship entirely. However, I am Fate’s cats-paw. A living paradox. The forces which move me are not always under my control. As you can see, Fate has reunited me with three old adversaries.” He swept his arm out to indicate Finn, Andre and Lucas.

“Which brings up the subject of what you’re going to do about us,” Finn said.

“I haven’t yet decided,” Drakov said. “I could have you killed, of course.”

“No!” said Verne. “Surely, a man of your accomplishment—”

“Would be more than justified, under the circumstances,” Drakov said. “They were sent to destroy me. There is more involved here than even your imagination could encompass. But we can pursue that another time. Right now, I must decide what to do about the five of you.”

“Five?” said Verne.

“Yes, regrettably, your injured companion died moments ago. My medical officer could do nothing for him.”

“Did he even try?” said Andre.

Drakov fixed her with a piercing glare. “I told you once before, Miss Cross. Whatever else I may be, I am not a barbarian. I could, for example, easily have destroyed the lifeboats from the
Abraham
Lincoln,
yet I did not. Your Commander Farrgut will live to be an admiral. I regret the loss of life, but they brought it on themselves.”

“What about the
Scotia?”
Land said. “Or do you regard that as an impertinent question?”

“The
Scotia
was a munitions ship,” said Drakov. “She was carrying supplies of war. Sending her to the bottom was an humanitarian act.”

Verne started to speak, then thought better of it. Land’s reply was cut off by Lucas, who reached out and squeezed his upper arm in warning.

“Do we at least get to find out why you took this sub before you kill us?” Lucas asked.

“I did not say I would kill you, only that I could,” said Drakov. “You see, I am giving you more consideration than you would have given me. There are other choices. I could compel your obedience in the same way I have the Soviet sailors’. I would prefer not to have to do that. Fate has delivered you into my hands and until I know the reason, I will not act hastily. If you will agree to be bound by the conventions of prisoners of war, I will allow you the run of the ship so long as you do not interfere with me or with my crew. The first hostile act by any one of you will instantly result in the death of all. Your signal implants will be removed and you will surrender your warp discs to me, of course.”

“And if we don’t accept those terms?” said Lucas.

“I should think them to be very reasonable, all things considered,” Drakov said. “If you find you cannot accept them, you are free to clock out. Having gone to so much trouble to find me, I can see where you might be reluctant to do so until you have at least deduced my plans. Also, you would be forced to leave Mr. Land and Mr. Verne behind. Mr. Land I could certainly do without, but I would be loathe to deprive myself of Mr. Verne’s company. That leaves you with three other choices. Death, re-education, or being left locked in this cabin until I decide what else to do with you. So, which is it to be?”

“How do you know you can trust us?” said Delaney.

“You, Mr. Delaney, I know I cannot trust. However, you are vastly outnumbered and unarmed.

Moreover, you will all be responsible for each other’s lives. I do not regard you as a threat, merely as a potential for annoyance.”

“All right,” said Lucas. “We’ll accept your terms.”

“Good,” said Drakov. “You will give Sasha your warp discs, please. Mess will be served in the wardroom in one hour. I would be pleased if you would join me.” With a curt nod of his head, he departed.